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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782873">Stop Being a Dick (or Your Friends Will Die)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultimateslothiraptor/pseuds/ultimateslothiraptor'>ultimateslothiraptor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dork Naegi Makoto, For a while anyway, I have way too much free time, M/M, Pure Naegi Makoto, Temporary Character Death, Time Loop, Togami Byakuya Being An Asshole, Togami Byakuya is Bad at Feelings, but he grows a heart don't worry, i tried to do a slowburn but accidentally poured gasoline on it, now it's burning at the speed of light, somebody please help</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:21:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultimateslothiraptor/pseuds/ultimateslothiraptor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be over. Everything was supposed to be over. The door opened, there was a flash of white… and then he was back.<br/>Byakuya Togami was back.<br/>Or: a physical manifestation of what happens when someone who is obsessed with Danganronpa timeloops but has no idea how to write or what a plot is tries to write something<br/>Loosely inspired I guess by Kazuichi Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Time Loop by Gars, which I mention again in the 'inspired by' section or whatever but am bringing up again because it's way better than whatever this is and you should definitely read it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>165</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Perfect Despair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123591">Kazuichi Strangelove or I How Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Time Loop</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gars/pseuds/Gars">Gars</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Why did I write this when I already have way too many works in progress? Fair question. It's because my brain fucking hates me. Anyway, enjoy, I guess. Or not. This is super fun to write either way, so fuck everyone, right? (No offense to you, I'm sure you're awesome, oh God my desperate need to have everyone I interact with like me is kicking in, ABORT MISSION)<br/>*clears throat*<br/>Whatever. Just take it. *shoves fic into your hands and runs away at the speed of light, thereby becoming light*</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Byakuya Togami was asleep with his head on his desk.</p><p>This was the second time in his life this had happened. The first had been followed by weeks of suspicion, bloodshed, and despair. And this time…</p><p>He lifted his head, looked around. <em>What? Why? Why am I…</em></p><p>
  <em>Why haven’t we escaped?</em>
</p><p>A moment ago, he’d been standing at the entrance of Hope’s Peak Academy, watching the futuristic, gun-mounted door slowly open. There was a flash of white, and then… then he was back.</p><p>Back in the room where it had begun.</p><p>He stood up abruptly, his heart racing. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked aloud.</p><p>He hadn’t expected an answer. That was just one reason why the menacing laughter in the corner made every hair on his body stand on end. “Upupupupupu…”</p><p>Monokuma was standing in the corner of the classroom, giggling.</p><p>Normally Byakuya would snap back with some kind of sharp insult or well-constructed refutation. Instead, all he could do was stare in disbelief. They had killed Monokuma’s operator. They had watched her die. So why… why was he still here?</p><p>“I bet you’re wondering what’s going on,” Monokuma said, standing up and pacing around the room. “I bet you’re thinking, ‘whaa? But Mr. Monokuma, you’re supposed to be dead!’ Well, have I got some news for you, buddy!” Monokuma jumped up on Byakuya’s desk, making him flinch. “You’re stuck in a time loop!”</p><p>Byakuya stared. “What.”</p><p>“Aww, a little slow, are we?” Monokuma reached up to pat Byakuya’s head. “Then let me explain this for you, and don’t make me repeat myself. Bears hate being interrupted, you know.”</p><p>He hopped off Byakuya’s desk and continued to pace like a teacher about to drive home the point of a lesson. “As you know, everyone’s favorite Miss Junko Enoshima was executed during your first killing game. She set all this up for the sake of despair. But that greedy little thing just wasn’t satisfied, now was she? She wanted to create the worst possible outcome for you – the perfect despair – no matter what it took. So she built a time machine.”</p><p>Byakuya had finally regained his composure. “A time machine? Don’t be absurd. There are no doubt endless other explanations for this.”</p><p>“Oh, really? Then why are you back here, wise guy?”</p><p>Byakuya fell silent.</p><p>“Basically,” Monokuma continued, “Junko created a time loop that can only be broken once all of you are dead, or once all of you escape! And that includes her, you know, so you can’t just kill her off and get out of here by yourselves.”</p><p>“Why would she include that last bit?” Byakuya demanded. “Why would she allow us all a chance at escape?”</p><p>Monokuma smiled, and even though he was a stuffed animal, Byakuya couldn’t help but shiver. “Despair can’t exist without hope, you know. You’ll try again and again, hoping that this time, you’ll be able to save everyone. And once you’re broken, once you’re in despair too deep to ever escape, I’ll do the same thing to all your classmates until everyone is despairing or dead!”</p><p>Something in what he’d just said jumped out at Byakuya. “The same thing…? Do you mean to say that the rest of the class is not experiencing the time loop?”</p><p>Monokuma put his paws over his mouth. “Oh, no, whatever would Miss Junko say if she knew I’d said that? I hope she doesn’t punish me too hard.” He gripped his sides, sweating. “Look what you’ve done, Byakuya! You’ve made me say too much! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an orientation to get to.”</p><p>He disappeared into the shadows, leaving Byakuya confused and alone.</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere, Junko Enoshima was cackling.</p><p>She watched on a monitor as Byakuya stared off into space, uncomprehending. <em>I bet the reality of what’s going on is sinking in right now, </em>she thought. <em>I bet he’s thinking ‘am I truly expected to save all these common fools’ or some other pretentious rich guy thing. I bet he’s going crazy wondering about what I said.</em></p><p>Her plan was simple. She would continue to restart time over and over again. She would keep going until a scenario where everyone died or nobody died came up. And if Byakuya broke before that happened, she would restore the memory of the first killing game to Kyoko, and then to Makoto, and keep going until everyone was drowning in a sea of despair.</p><p>The decision to target Byakuya first was easy. Someone so conceited, so full of himself, would have the most despairful breakdown when he realized there was nothing he could do about his situation. He would try so hard to save everyone, and every time he would fail. Because he didn’t care enough. Because he looked at his classmates like they were scum. And if he didn’t have the determination to save his classmates, if he didn’t think of them as equals, there was no way he was going to make it to the end in one piece.</p><p>Unless he learned to care. Unless enough mistakes and wrong tries instilled genuine compassion within him. But that wasn’t possible. Junko had known him for two years. Even at the end, he couldn’t care less about his classmates, despite how much they’d all been through together. It wasn’t possible that he’d suddenly grow a heart. Was it?</p><p>Well, she would find out soon enough. She sat back, tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth. No matter what, it was sure to be entertaining.</p><p>No matter what, it was sure to bring about despair.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Welcome Back, Togami</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As always, Byakuya’s mind turned to the simplest, most logical course of action. He would simply let things play out the way they always had, and once he reached the end of the game everything would go back to normal. Of course he didn’t think it would be that simple, but it was at least a good place to start out considering how little he knew about the situation.</p><p>There was just one problem with that. Time is complicated. Time travel, even more so. Repeating a timeline beat for beat is next to impossible, which Byakuya was about to find out.</p><p>He was already at a disadvantage in that he was several minutes late. He opened the door only to find everyone else already making their way to the gym. They stopped and looked at him cautiously.</p><p>“Who the fuck are you?”</p><p>Byakuya rolled his eyes. “Of course someone like you wouldn’t recognize me, Mondo.”</p><p>He realized his mistake the instant the words came out of his mouth. Everyone stared at him. He mentally slapped his forehead. <em>Idiot!</em></p><p>“Would it be too presumptuous of me to assume that you have some sort of inside knowledge about the situation we are in?” Celeste asked. “After all, you have just addressed Mondo by name, despite having never met him. It would be fair to assume you are somehow involved in this.”</p><p>Byakuya’s mind was racing. <em>How the hell am I supposed to pull myself out of this? If I’d had some time to prepare for this situation I might have been able to come up with a solution, but as things are…</em></p><p>“Oh!” Makoto spoke up after what felt like an eternity. “Did you look us all up before you came? That’s what I did.” He stuck out his hand, grinning. “I’m Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student. And you’re Byakuya Togami, right? The Ultimate Affluent Progeny?”</p><p>Byakuya couldn’t believe himself. Of all people, Makoto was the one to come to his rescue. Still, he had regained his composure enough to scoff at Makoto’s outstretched hand. “As any idiot would be able to figure out. And put your hand away. A peasant like you deigning to stand on my level is unseemly at best.”<br/>“Oh…” Makoto looked disappointed, and Byakuya felt an inexplicable pang in his heart. Somehow he missed the Makoto who would know to brush off anything rude comments he made to him. He missed the Makoto he had struck up an odd sort of friendship with. “Well, anyway, did you hear the announcement? We’ve all gotta meet in the gym.”</p><p>He hadn’t. The monitor in the room he was in hadn’t gone off. “Yes, obviously,” he said, doing his best to sound condescending. “That is why I left the room.”</p><p>“Excuse me!” Taka shouted, pointing a finger at Byakuya. “Why are you so late?? You’re more late than even Makoto! Explain yourself this instant!”</p><p>Byakuya paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. It was probably okay to tell them the truth, since the first time they’d met Makoto and a few of the others had said they’d experienced the same thing. “I have no more of an idea of what’s going on than you do. I awakened just a few minutes ago in a classroom I had never seen before. How am I expected to be on time when I was not even aware that anything such as this was happening?”</p><p>Makoto snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah, I woke up in a weird classroom like that too! You passed out when you got to the entrance of the school, right?”</p><p>“Enough of this.” Kyoko’s voice, cold and commanding as it always had been. “You heard that announcement. We need to get to the gym.”</p><p>Makoto gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry. But let’s talk more later, okay?”</p><p><em>Why would I want to waste my time talking to someone like you?</em> That was what he would’ve said last time. But looking at this Makoto, the one who didn’t know what it was like to despair, who hadn’t been through all this trauma with him, he couldn’t bring himself to be so cold. “I suppose.”</p><p>“Great!” Makoto gave him a thumbs up and ran off after a few others who had gone off ahead.</p><p>“Makoto, stop! No running in the hallways!”</p><p>Byakuya felt himself smile. He wasn’t sure why. He had just been ripped away from freedom, from a chance to validate or disprove all the horrible things that Junko claimed had been happening, to salvage what was left of his family name. But being back here with everyone, alive and happy… it felt good. He didn’t know why he cared – it wasn’t like him to care at all – but he did.</p><p>Then her voice cut through his thoughts. “That smile… would it be wrong to assume you feel some sort of bond with them?”</p><p>Damn that Kyoko. “Absolutely absurd. I have no interest in such lowly fools.”</p><p>“Hm.” Kyoko looked at him curiously. “That’s odd. It almost seems as though you’ve met us all before.”</p><p>“Hey, come on, guys!” Makoto shouted. “I thought you were the one who said we needed to get going!”</p><p>He looked at the girl, her eyes searching for any giveaway in his expression, and scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”<br/>He brushed past her, his heart racing. That had been too close. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to get a repeat of the first timeline. Far from it.</p><p>From here on out, everything would be different. And for the first time in his life, Byakuya Togami didn’t know what to do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Some Small Adjustments</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Well, not <em>everything</em>, as it turned out. Monokuma’s introduction to them was almost exactly the same. Mondo still attacked it, Kyoko still shouted for him to throw it, Monokuma still exploded. Mondo still punched Makoto in the face.</p><p>It was after that things started to get interesting.</p><p>While Makoto was carried back to his dorm room, they decided that they would split up to look around the school like they had last time. But this time, as Byakuya was about to set up on his own, somebody stopped him. Kyoko.</p><p>“Would you be opposed to searching together? I have some important questions to ask you.”</p><p><em>She knows something is amiss. </em>“Hmph. You’re annoying. But I suppose you are the Ultimate Detective.”</p><p>That was Byakuya’s second big mistake. Kyoko’s eyes widened. “I’m… wait… how do you…” She put a hand over her mouth and leaned back. He couldn’t be sure, but he guessed the memories were coming back to her.</p><p>She shook off her surprise, looking at him with suspicion. “Not even I remembered my talent. The fact that you would know when no one else does… odd, wouldn’t you agree?”</p><p>Byakuya was speechless. He’d been upstaged by Kyoko before. In fact, he regarded that time as the low point of his entire life. Not like this, though. This time it was because of his own stupid mistake. <em>How could I do this? What is </em>wrong <em>with me?</em></p><p>“Your silence will do you no good, you know. If you want to say something, now would be a good time. In the event that you have anything to exonerate yourself with, that is.”<br/>Then Byakuya laughed. “I… I can’t believe I said that, I really can’t. Not that it matters, I suppose.”</p><p>She narrowed her eyes, looking at him with practiced scrutiny. “What could you possibly mean by that?”</p><p>He shook his head. “It… it doesn’t matter.”</p><p>Part of him still wanted to salvage the situation. He was Byakuya Togami, for Christ’s sake! How could he just admit defeat? But on the premise that he had an infinite amount of attempts to get it right…</p><p>Of course, there was still the matter of how to reset the timeline. He assumed it would happen when they reached at the end of the game. But was there any other way he could do it? And… what would happen if he died?<br/>Maybe the timeline would reset. But maybe not. Maybe the bear had been lying, giving him one last chance under the assumption that he would screw it up the first time. It wasn’t the most likely possibility… but it wasn’t totally out of the question, either.</p><p>That was when it hit him. There was just so little about the situation that he understood. He couldn’t afford to screw it up. The problem was, he already had.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kyoko had been pondering the meaning of what he’d said, holding her chin in her hand, frowning. “It’s not possible… no, they wouldn’t be that sloppy…”</p><p>“I suppose you’re assuming that I am the mastermind behind our current predicament, correct?”</p><p>Kyoko seemed to realize she had been talking aloud. “Ah. You heard that, did you.”</p><p>Byakuya scoffed. “Put the thought out of your mind. That idea will lead us all to ruin.”</p><p>“Oh?” She studied him critically. “How do you mean?”</p><p>Just then, Hiro ran into the room. “Hey, guys! We’re all meeting up in the dining hall.” Kyoko grimaced, then leaned forward and whispered in Byakuya’s ear.</p><p>“I assume you have some sort of reason for divulging the information you have so far, and considered logically, it does seem highly unlikely that you would be the mastermind. However, you clearly know far more than you should. We’ll discuss this later.”</p><p>With that, she strode off to the cafeteria, Byakuya following behind her with a dark pit of dread in his stomach.</p><p>Their investigations had turned up exactly what they always had. It didn’t seem as though this little diversion with Kyoko had mattered, except… there was something missing.</p><p>
  <em>Right! The map!</em>
</p><p>Since Kyoko hadn’t gotten a chance to look around the building, she hadn’t found the floor plan of Hope’s Peak. Because of that, the rest of them had no way of knowing that was where they really were. It was probably an irrelevant detail, but still. Byakuya cursed himself for letting himself interfere with something that could help the rest of the students figure out their situation. He couldn’t even look for it himself, since Kyoko had never told them where she’d found it.</p><p>He waited while everyone else gave their report. When he mentioned that he’d stayed in the gym to talk with Kyoko, all eyes turned to him.</p><p>“Wait, why?” Aoi asked. “What could you guys have to talk about?”</p><p>“Oh, nothing,” Byakuya replied airily. “I was simply unused to having someone close to my level of intelligence to talk to. The change from you simpletons was refreshing.”</p><p>He looked at Kyoko, silently praying that she wouldn’t tell everyone what she suspected. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke up.</p><p>“I was addressing some concerns I had developed. I believe there is a chance that Byakuya Togami may be responsible for our situation.”</p><p>Chaos erupted. Mondo started walking over to him slowly with a death glare, Taka was pointing and shouting, Chihiro was starting to cry, Hiro was laughing like none of this concerned him at all. Byakuya closed his eyes. <em>What happens now? </em>he wondered.</p><p>
  <em>What exactly are they going to do?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Distrust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyoko Kirigiri wasn’t used to being uncertain.</p><p>Now that she remembered her title of Ultimate Detective, that made a lot more sense. She was usually able to figure out everything relatively quickly without much room for doubt. But this situation was… disconcerting, to say the least.</p><p>Should she really have told everyone about what she suspected about Byakuya? There was no logical reason not to. He had acted deeply suspicious from the moment he had stepped into their collective consciousness, and practically given himself away just a moment ago. But… why? Why would the mastermind reveal themselves so easily?</p><p>Her eyes narrowed. Unless… he knew he had more chances to get it right.</p><p>The thought was absurd at best. How would that even be possible? There was no way…</p><p>But if they had truly been able to steal her memory of her talent… maybe…</p><p>Looking at Byakuya didn’t help. He seemed frustrated, mostly, but there was a thin layer of panic behind his composed expression. Was that because he was being discovered… or framed?</p><p>Whatever the case, he knew something about this situation, and outing him to the group had been a foolish decision. She wasn’t exactly practiced at going back on her word, but she thought she could manage to take back what she’d said. She chuckled, and the eyes of the room went back to her.</p><p>“Sorry. Upon further consideration, it seems as though I was simply grasping at straws. There’s no doubt that Byakuya is a definite person of interest, but… whether or not he is the mastermind has yet to be revealed. Again, my apologies.”</p><p>“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Mondo snarled. “You literally just said this guy’s the one responsible.”<br/>Kyoko shook her head. “All meaningless conjecture. Please, forget I said anything.”</p><p>“And furthermore,” Hifumi piped up, “who knows if Ms. Kirigiri herself is a trustworthy party?”</p><p>“<em>Thank </em>you.” It felt odd to support someone who claimed she couldn’t be trusted, but given the circumstances it seemed reasonable enough. “None of us know enough about this situation to jump to any conclusions. Now, shall we return to the topic at hand?”</p><p>Byakuya shot her a grateful look. <em>Don’t thank me, </em>she thought. <em>Your name’s not been cleared yet.</em></p><p>The conversation continued. Nothing of note. Soon enough everyone was headed back to the dorms. That was good. The two of them needed some time to sort things out.</p><p>Kyoko locked herself in her room and lay down on her bed, her mind racing even faster than usual. What was going on? Just who was Byakuya Togami? She’d need to begin her investigation as soon as possible.</p><p>Byakuya, also in bed, stared at the ceiling, trying desperately to wrap his mind around anything. If he couldn’t take control of the situation soon he didn’t know what would happen. He tried to think things through rationally. The problem was, nothing about the situation he was in made any sense at all.</p><p>Feeling restless, he left his room to head to the dining hall, maybe to grab a snack or something. They had agreed not to go out at night, but Byakuya felt he was entitled to this after what he’d been through. He didn’t expect to run into Makoto there.</p><p>“Hey,” the boy said tiredly. “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”</p><p>Byakuya nodded, and Makoto motioned to a chair beside him. Byakuya took a seat, feeling awkward. It was strange, sitting next to someone you had considered a friend but who didn’t remember you at all. It made his heart hurt. Which was strange, because his heart didn’t respond to anything anymore.</p><p>“So,” Byakuya said finally. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Like I said, I couldn’t sleep. Wanted to get a snack, but then…” He looked around. “I… well, my legs kinda gave out.” He laughed shakily.</p><p>“Oh. Are… are you okay?” Byakuya couldn’t believe what he was asking. Since when did he care about other people’s well-being? Since when did he care about Makoto, of all people? Makoto, the idiot who never stopped smiling and always had your back whether you liked it or not? Makoto, the obnoxious, pestering, dreamy-eyed –</p><p>
  <em>What am I thinking?? I need sleep more than I thought, apparently.</em>
</p><p>Makoto nodded. “Yeah. Just… this whole situation is so insane, you know? I’m a totally normal kid with normal interests and a normal life. And now… all of this.” He slammed a fist down on the table. “Why me, damn it? Why did someone like me get chosen for this thing?”</p><p>Byakuya wished he could answer him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Questioning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ten hours later, his doorbell rang.</p><p>Byakuya rubbed his eyes. He had passed out cold the second he’d gotten back to his room, and, judging by the clock in his room, had slept right through the morning broadcast. Talking with Makoto combined with everything else that had happened that day had wiped him out. He opened the door to see… “Kyoko.”</p><p>She nodded at him. “As you’re no doubt aware, I have some questions for you.”</p><p>He nodded back. “As expected. I am not sure how satisfactory my answers will be, but I hope I can somewhat ease your mind.”</p><p>Kyoko chuckled. “What is it?” he snapped.</p><p>“Nothing,” she said, waving a hand. “Just… you’re cold to be sure, but I never expected someone with such a prestigious background as yourself to be so… considerate.”</p><p>“I can assure you I’m no such thing.”</p><p>“Hm. Now, may I come in?”</p><p>She sat down on his bed and pulled out an oversized notepad. When Kyoko noticed him looking, she shrugged apologetically. “It was the only paper on hand. Usually I can keep everything stored neatly in my head, but for cases as complex as this I prefer to get things down on paper, if that’s okay with you.” Byakuya nodded, and she continued. “Now then. Would I be correct in assuming that you have little to no understanding of what you’re getting into?”</p><p>Her assumption was so on the nose that Byakuya had to laugh. “What gave it away?”</p><p>“Everything. You had no explanation for recognizing Mondo and Makoto had to step in. You divulged information that had been specifically erased from my memory. You acted flippant at first when you realized your mistake but began to panic just a few moments later, no doubt realizing the consequences of your actions. I won’t pretend I fully understand your situation, but if I had to guess, you’re one of the mastermind’s lackeys.”</p><p>Byakuya shook his head. “For the most part you’re correct, but I am in no way affiliated with the mastermind, I can tell you that much.”</p><p>Kyoko frowned. “You’re awfully composed. For someone as sloppy as you’ve been acting to react this way upon being found out would be… odd, to say the least.” She sat back. “Very well. For the time being, I will entertain the possibility that you are not, in fact, associated with the mastermind. So, what exactly <em>are </em>you?”</p><p>“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”</p><p>Kyoko looked at him curiously. “I highly doubt that. I’ve seen some very strange things in my</p><p>life.”</p><p>“My situation is different, especially since there’s no actual way to validate my claim.”</p><p>Kyoko shrugged. “I may not believe you, but I would still appreciate having all the information. Feel free to tell me. There’s no guarantee I’ll understand, but it would still help to get everything out on the table.”</p><p>Byakuya took a deep breath. “Very well then. According to Monokuma, I’m stuck in a time loop.”</p><p>The moment the last word escaped his mouth, Monokuma popped up in between them. “Whatch’oo talkin’ bout, Byakuya? This is the first I’m hearing about a time loop.”</p><p>Byakuya rolled his eyes. He hadn’t expected Monokuma to corroborate his story, but it was still disappointing. “Have you forgotten our conversation yesterday? When I woke up in the classroom after we escaped, you informed me that I was trapped in a time loop.”</p><p>Monokuma shook his head. “Escaped? What are you, crazy? There’s no escaping Hope’s Peak Academy! Must be feverish. Looks like we’ve gotta get this one to the nurse’s office, stat!”</p><p>The bear grabbed him by the hand with surprising force and dragged him into the hall. “Listen, bud,” he muttered. “You can’t tell other people about this. That’s cheating!”<br/>“What?” Byakuya broke away, shouting. “That was never agreed upon. What are you – what –” He knew what he was saying didn’t make any sense. Of course Monokuma wouldn’t need an agreement from him to enact a new rule. But this change was so sudden and threw off what was happening so much that he couldn’t help being upset.</p><p>Monokuma shrugged. “Sorry, pal. I don’t make the rules. But you knew that, right?” He tilted his head. “You know what, since I’m such a flexible bear, I think we can agree on some ground rules. You can tell people about the time loop, but no spoilers, you got that? No telling everyone who the mastermind really is, no saying who dies or survives in the other timelines, nothin’. Aren’t I such a nice bear?”<br/>“No.” Byakuya shoved him away and returned to his room, where Kyoko looked at him curiously.</p><p>“What did the bear have to say?”</p><p>“He forbid me to discuss certain details of the time loop.”</p><p>Kyoko frowned. “I see. That is… troubling. Supposing that your idea of a time loop is true, of course. What can you tell me?”<br/>“Well…” Byakuya rested his head against the palm of his hand, leveraging his arm against his desk. “If the bear can be believed, this is only the second iteration of the time loop. I’m not allowed to discuss certain details of the other time loops, such as the survivors or who the mastermind is –”</p><p>Kyoko sat bolt upright. “Hold on. You… you know who the mastermind is?”</p><p>Byakuya nodded. “But if I want to keep my life, I doubt I can say.”<br/>“I don’t care.”</p><p>The coldness in her voice was only slightly surprising. He stared at her. “What did you say?”</p><p>She didn’t flinch under his gaze. “If what you say is indeed true, you’ve found yourself in a situation where you have the option to trade your life for ours. Either you tell us who the mastermind is, you die, and we use that information to escape, or you don’t tell us, you have a chance at survival, but many more people die.”</p><p>He scoffed. “As if I care about them.”</p><p>“Really.” He could tell she didn’t buy it. “There’s not one single person here you forged a connection with over the course of an entire killing game. I would assume there’s at least one person you would bond with over shared trauma.”</p><p>He thought of Toko, that annoying insect who wouldn’t stop clinging to him, who cared about him more than anyone ever had whether he liked it or not. Hina, that insolent brainless athletic type who had slapped him. Whose loyalty to her friends was unparalleled and always tried to see the good in even the worst situation. Kyoko, the first person to ever catch him in a mistake, the person who had humiliated him with her sharp wit and admirable mind, who cared about others although she would never admit it. Hiro, the useless follower who provided necessary levity to the group. And Makoto… Makoto, the annoying, hopeless, sweet, kind boy who never stopped giving people second chances. The boy who right now was confused, afraid, and alone except for Sayaka, who, if everything panned out the same way it had last time, would end up dead just a day or so from now. All their lives were on the line, because chances are, things weren’t going to go the same way, and no one was safe. Not to mention everyone whose lives had been claimed by the killing game. Chihiro, whose body he had desecrated simply to make the case more interesting. Sakura, who he had turned his back on and called a monster for reasons that were never valid to begin with. All the people he had wronged, he could give a second chance to live. All he would have to do would be to sacrifice himself.</p><p>Byakuya wasn’t a good person. He had known this about himself for a long time. So why was he seriously considering this? Why would he willingly sacrifice his life for these common fools? These stupid, useless, naïve, innocent, kind common fools…</p><p>“Very well. I’ll do it.”</p><p>Kyoko blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”</p><p>“The true mastermind of this killing game is Junko Enoshima.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Consequences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He never would’ve done it if it hadn’t been so easy, or if he hadn’t screwed up this timeline so much already. Besides, there was a good chance that if he died, he wouldn’t be dead forever. He’d get another chance. Actually, it was a good outcome either way. If he resurrected, he would be able to keep trying to save everyone; if he didn’t, well, at least everyone else would survive. And he would go down in the history books as the hero who singlehandedly saved the survivors of Hope’s Peak Academy.</p><p>His E-Handbook dinged. He looked down and saw that a rule he hadn’t known was there was flashing red. <em>Sharing information about other timelines is strictly prohibited.</em> Alarms all across the school started blaring, and Monokuma’s voice echoed out from the monitors. “Byakuya Togami has violated a school regulation! Everyone please gather in the gym for his punishment!”</p><p>Kyoko looked at him in disbelief. “Then… it’s really true?”</p><p>Byakuya nodded. He didn’t know how much time he had before Monokuma came to find him, so he needed to get this out quick. “The Junko Enoshima we’ve met isn’t the real one. That’s her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba. She’s wearing a wig. Tear it off, and you should have all the proof you need. The real one is hiding somewhere in this school. If you can kill her, you’ll be able to go free.”</p><p>Kyoko’s head was spinning. This entire situation was completely surreal, but given the circumstances, the most logical option would be to go along with what Byakuya was saying. “You may want to run now.”</p><p>“Agreed.”</p><p>The next second, Byakuya was gone. <em>He’s faster than he looks. In the meantime… I should probably go look for Junko.</em></p><p>A Monokuma popped out of the walls holding a machine gun. She didn’t know where it had come from and it didn’t really matter. “Where is he?? Where did he go, huh?”</p><p>A smug smile slid over Kyoko’s face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She knew that Monokuma was just playing around – he could probably tell instantly from the security cameras – but the longer she played along with this one, the more time Byakuya would have to get away.</p><p>Monokuma shook his head in frustration. “Graar! This is my angry bear face!” He waddled out of the classroom, looking almost comical with the weight of the machine gun dragging him down. As he opened the door, Kyoko noticed a small army of Monokumas marching in the same direction. <em>He’s going to die, isn’t he?</em></p><p>Kyoko couldn’t help but feel guilty. Her job was to avenge murders, not cause them. Still, more than that, her job was to find the truth, and that wouldn’t be possible with some sacrifice. She slipped out of the door to find Mukuro Ikusaba.</p><p> </p><p>Byakuya was trapped. Somehow the Monokumas had managed to corral him into the gym, and he had gotten backed into a corner with no way out. A crowd was beginning to filter into the room. <em>Well, this is a humiliating way to die. Crushed to death by a thousand stuffed animals while a crowd of idiots watches.</em></p><p>He closed his eyes, prepared for it all to end. <em>Why did I tell Kyoko that? Now, more than likely, the timeline is going to reset, and no one will have accomplished anything.</em> It was getting hard to breathe. The Monokumas were pressing in.</p><p>Then a thousand identical voices said “Eep!” and suddenly a path was clear.</p><p>Byakuya looked up, unable to believe what was happening. Mondo was standing there, his hand outstretched. “Yo. Kyoko told us what happened. I dunno if I believe it, but, well…” He gestured around. “I figure the mastermind wouldn’t do <em>this </em>if you weren’t onto something. Now come on. We’re gonna go kill Junko Enoshima.”</p><p>“I don’t need your help,” Byakuya grumbled, but accepted Mondo’s hand and let himself be dragged out of the massive Monokuma pile. “Now, where do we go from here?”<br/>“Uh… run, I guess?”</p><p>“Got it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mukuro Ikusaba.”</p><p>Mukuro turned around and immediately cursed herself for it. <em>Dumbass! You’re supposed to be Junko now, not Mukuro! </em>She tried to play it off with an awkward laugh. “Yeah, that’s my sister’s name. That smelly piece of shit. What about her?”</p><p>Kyoko studied her critically, and Mukuro knew that she’d been figured out. “Take off your wig.”</p><p>“What? No! I mean, this isn’t a wig, freak!” <em>Damn it! This is why Junko hates you so much, Muk!</em></p><p>“Prove it.”</p><p>Unable to see another way out of the situation, Mukuro gave her wig a gentle tug. Unfortunately, for the millionth time in her life, she underestimated her own strength. Sometimes she forgot she used to be an elite mercenary. The wig came flying off, revealing Mukuro for who she was: a freckled, black-haired girl with colored contacts and a terrified expression.</p><p>Kyoko nodded with her patented smug smile. “That’s what I thought. Now, do you mind telling me what’s going on here?”</p><p>Mukuro grimaced. “There’s no time. Junko is watching us on the security cameras, and…” Right on cue, a hidden rule on her E-Handbook lit up red. <em>Mukuro Ikusaba is forbidden to reveal her true identity.</em></p><p>Monokuma’s voice came blaring over the speakers for the second time. “Uh-oh! We’ve got a double whammy here, folks! Mukuro Ikusaba, the traitorous pig you all know as Junko Enoshima, has violated a school regulation! Everyone please gather in the gym for <em>her </em>punishment!”</p><p>Mukuro grabbed Kyoko’s hand. “Come on. I can take you to her.”<br/><br/></p><p>Junko Enoshima smiled.</p><p>Things were starting to fall apart already. For Byakuya, not her, although she could see how it might appear that she was losing control of the situation. Byakuya was escaping; her sister was betraying her; everything was chaos. But nothing was happening that she couldn’t have predicted. In fact, it was so despairingly predictable that she had to laugh. Byakuya would receive his punishment soon enough. In the meantime… all she had to do was sit back and watch.</p><p> </p><p>Running away from the Monokumas was a bit like running away from a fluffy, plush zombie horde. Still dangerous, but almost laughably easy. The fastest the Monokumas could move was a slow waddle, and escaping them turned out to be no problem at all. No, the problem was the sheer numbers of them.</p><p>Every corner he turned there was a small army of Monokumas waiting to ambush him. Trying to knock down the gate to the second floor proved futile, and knocking them away was no good; there were too many of them.</p><p>“You got a plan, man?” Mondo shouted, bashing at the encroaching Monokumas as quickly as he could. “Can’t keep this up forever.”</p><p>“I don’t know!” Byakuya shouted. “Let’s… let’s just keep running.” The plan was flimsy at best, but it was the best he could come up with.</p><p>It took him until he was separated from Mondo and pressed back into the gym to realize. He wasn’t being crushed; he was being herded.</p><p>The rest of the students were there, looking on in shock and awe as the sea of Monokumas swept him into the back wall. Things were happening too quickly for Byakuya’s eyes to process. Something popped out of the ground beside him. <em>A… a refrigerator?</em></p><p>The last thing he saw before he was stuffed inside and the door was closed on him was Mukuro Ikusaba charging into the room, stomping on a trapdoor of some kind, and being impaled.</p><p> </p><p>This was the last thing Kyoko Kirigiri had expected to happen.</p><p>It took her a second to process everything that was going on in the room. Students plastered to the walls, looking at each other with confusion as more and more Monokumas poured into the room. A refrigerator just randomly placed by the back wall. And Mukuro, her leg halfway through the floor and a spear through her foot.</p><p>Her eyes were wide with shock and betrayal. “What…? What… Junko… you lied to me?”</p><p>Before she could get another word out, a dozen spears shot out of the floor and stabbed her from every possible direction.</p><p>Kyoko stared. And laughed.</p><p>For the first time in her life, she had completely lost control of the situation. She had no idea what was happening, or why. <em>Where’s Byakuya? What did Mukuro mean, and why is she… why is she dead now? Why are there so many Monokumas?</em></p><p>
  <em>What the fuck is going on here?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The cold was nothing like Byakuya had ever experienced before. Mercifully, he would only need to feel it for a few seconds before his body shut down. He remained conscious, though, feeling nothing but a dull wave of agony for what felt like an eternity. He could feel himself dying.</p><p>He woke up in the classroom.</p><p>
  <em>Well… that went about as well as anyone could’ve expected.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, for anyone who's confused, because this chapter was kind of a clusterfuck: Byakuya's death here is a reference to his unused execution. The reason Mukuro tried to go through the trapdoor hiding the spears was because her plan with Junko was to get dropped through there and wind up in a secret room where she and Junko could manipulate the rest of the killing game. She thought that route would lead her and Kyoko to Junko, but since Junko betrayed her, she wound up getting impaled instead. Maybe I didn't need to explain all that, but I wanted to be on the safe side because, again, this was kind of a clusterfuck.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Take Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Literally just Byakuya being a lovestruck idiot and Makoto being an adorable little shit, what more do you want from me</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay. So I know I was gone for *checks last updated* almost three months. Holy shit.<br/>I can explain.<br/>Let me explain.<br/>Okay you called my bluff. I have no excuse.<br/>So... yeah, sorry about that. I wish I could promise more consistent updates. But I can promise that, unlike 99% of my other projects, I'm not abandoning this. That's the end of the paragraph.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Okay. New plan. He had to make a plan. Rushing in blindly would only get him killed.</p><p>The problem was, he couldn’t exactly come up with a plan with Monokuma jabbering in his face the whole time.</p><p>“So you got your first taste of the despair a time loop can bring,” the bear babbled. “Isn’t it just such a rush? Doesn’t it make you feel so alive?”</p><p>Byakuya ignored him and walked out of the classroom.</p><p>This time he managed to make it to the entrance hall at the same time as everyone else. He sat back and waited for Makoto. That idiot was the last one to arrive the first time, after all.</p><p>“Oh, you’re Byakuya Togami, right?” Hina asked him in a pitiful attempt to make conversation. Byakuya ignored her.</p><p><em>Where is he? I don’t remember him taking this long. </em>Byakuya was startled to find himself genuinely worried. Sure, it had been a while since he’d lived through this specific event. Maybe Makoto just took longer than he remembered. But what if something had happened to him?</p><p>After a second he came up with a logical reason as to why he was so worried about Makoto. <em>If anything happens to him, it’ll be impossible to escape the time loop in this run. I’d have to kill myself, and that would be painfully inconvenient.</em> Yes. That made sense. Byakuya generally preferred things that made sense.</p><p>Of course, another logical explanation would be that he had fallen for the idiot, but Byakuya was trying not to think about that at the moment.</p><p>When Makoto finally did walk into the classroom, Byakuya couldn’t help but breathe a physical sigh of relief. He seemed fine – just as hopeful and idealistic as he had been when Byakuya had first met him, if a little confused. Everyone went around and introduced themselves, and Byakuya was relieved to see that he hadn’t managed to alter anything too drastically. Kyoko did give him a quizzical look when he introduced himself to her, but other than that everything happened just the way he remembered it. Monokuma made his announcement, and everyone started making their way to the gym. Par for the course.</p><p>Or at least it would’ve been if Makoto hadn’t started talking to him.</p><p>“So,” he said, startling Byakuya out of his thoughts, “what’s it like? I mean, being a super famous prodigy and all.” He laughed. “Well, I guess I could ask that of anyone here, but you seem… I dunno. More impressive? No offense to anyone else, I mean, but –”</p><p>“You’re rambling.” <em>Oh God, why is he talking to me? Is this because I wasn’t as cold to him this time? Well, no matter. It’s not like this will really change anything.</em></p><p>Makoto blinked, then laughed again. “Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry. I’m just kinda freaked out, you know? I’m so out of my element here, and then all this is happening, and I just don’t know what to think at all.”</p><p>Byakuya nodded. “That’s understandable. I’m in a bit of a difficult situation myself.”</p><p>“Oh?” Makoto tilted his head in a way that Byakuya couldn’t help but find adorable. “What’s going on? Is there anything I can do to help?”</p><p><em>He doesn’t even know me, and he’s already volunteering to help me with a personal crisis.</em> Byakuya swallowed, taken aback by an unexpected wave of emotion. “I doubt you could help. It’s… it’s quite complicated.”</p><p>“Oh.” Makoto nodded. “Girl trouble.”</p><p>That forced a laugh out of Byakuya. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… for the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do. It’s as though I’m stuck in a rut. Which isn’t unusual for me, but this time I’m having trouble finding my way out.”</p><p><em>Why am I confiding in this simpleton? What on Earth would make me think that he could do anything to help? </em>Still, he supposed there was no harm in it.</p><p>“Huh.” Makoto screwed up his face, concentrating intensely. “I dunno. I feel like that a lot. I mean, I’m just so average that –”</p><p>“Please. You’re far from average.”<br/>                “Yeah?” Makoto blushed. “What makes you say that?”</p><p><em>Shit. Why </em>did <em>I just say that? </em>“Well,” Byakuya said, carefully trying to maneuver around the fact that he already knew Makoto, “we’ve only just met, and you’re already doing everything you can to help me. I can’t imagine a single reason you would do that, and yet you did. You’re offering advice to someone who’s acted completely cold since you met him. What kind of ordinary person would do something like that?”</p><p>Makoto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Oh, well, it’s nothing, really. I just… I guess I just like being useful, you know? Helpful.”</p><p>“I…” Byakuya thought for a second. “I can in no way relate to that.”</p><p>The smaller boy grinned. “Well, you seem pretty nice to me!”</p><p>Byakuya couldn’t help but laugh. “If you knew me, you’d know how absolutely untrue that was.”</p><p>Makoto opened his mouth to protest, but just then they reached the entrance to the gym. “After you,” he said, holding the door for Byakuya.</p><p>As much as he tried to hide it, Byakuya couldn’t stop a smile from growing on his lips.</p><p>“You two seem awfully chummy.” Byakuya cursed under his breath. <em>Kyoko.</em></p><p>“That’s preposterous. Perhaps I’m just a good person.” He wasn’t, but Kyoko didn’t have to know that.</p><p>The side of her mouth quirked into what was almost a smile. “Hmm.” She strode away without another word.</p><p>
  <em>What was that all about?</em>
</p><p>She seemed suspicious, but not of anything important. In fact, she seemed almost… amused.</p><p>
  <em>She thinks I have a crush on him, doesn’t she?</em>
</p><p>Rolling his eyes to himself and trying to ignore the blush creeping over his face, Byakuya stood back and waited for Monokuma to show up.</p><p>Just like both times before, his speech was the same. Mondo still threw him, he still exploded. This was getting old already. He waited, ready to say his line that would turn everyone against each other.</p><p>But he hesitated.</p><p>Was this really what he wanted? To sow discord and strife in the group? The first time around, yes, obviously. That had seemed like the best way to survive. But now… he hated to say it, but the best thing to do would be to try to unite everyone.</p><p>So instead of his usual line of “Is anyone here seriously considering this?”, he said something different.</p><p>“Come on. Is anyone here seriously considering this?”</p><p>Okay, not <em>that </em>different. But it was the inflection that mattered.</p><p>The first time, he had been fully sincere, genuinely asking if anyone would try to kill one of their classmates. This time, his tone was sarcastic. “First of all, if we truly can live here indefinitely, then there’s no reason to rush. Each of us has a choice: betray the group and murder someone to escape… or work together with the group and find some way to escape together. The second option may take more time, but it’s also the only possibility that allows everyone to survive.”</p><p>“A-are you kidding me?” Toko stammered, shocked. “Y-you’re seriously saying we h-have to stay here?”</p><p>“Well, obviously not indefinitely. Don’t interrupt me. Second: escape may be easier than we envisioned.”</p><p>“How do you figure?” Chihiro asked timidly.</p><p>“Obviously there has to be someone controlling this bear. We find them, we can go free. And they must be hiding somewhere in this school. If we simply search enough, we will be able to escape.”</p><p>“Erm, how do you know they’re hiding in the school?” Hifumi interjected.</p><p>“Well –” Byakuya faltered. “It would only make logical sense. Think about it. Someone needs to have brought us here, and the doors and windows are all sealed. The mastermind must still be in the building.”</p><p>“But it is possible that they are the only ones able to control the door, and thus managed to leave and lock it behind them,” Celeste pointed out.</p><p>Byakuya shook his head in frustration. “No, what I’m trying to say is –” He had no idea what he was trying to say. He had no argument that would make sense without context from previous timelines, and he couldn’t <em>talk </em>about previous timelines.</p><p>Then something Byakuya never thought would happen, happened. Monokuma saved him.</p><p>“Aww, isn’t this cute?” The bear popped up an inch away from Byakuya. “Sad little rich boy can’t make his dumb point. It’s so pathetic I can’t help but throw you a bone!” Monokuma leaned in conspiratorially, stage-whispering, “It’s true, the person controlling me really is inside the school. Who woulda thunk, huh?”</p><p>“Thank you. Now get out.” Monokuma saluted and disappeared. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the mastermind is within the school. If we can simply find them, we can go free. All we have to do is wait for them to slip up and expose themselves.”</p><p>Finally, people were starting to agree with him. Mondo was nodding. Chihiro had begun to smile again. Makoto was grinning like an idiot. “So there’s no reason to even consider killing,” Byakuya finished.</p><p>“Yeah!” Makoto cheered. Byakuya stared at him, and he blushed. “Sorry, I can be kinda gung-ho sometimes.”</p><p>
  <em>Fuck, that’s adorable.</em>
</p><p>Brushing away that intrusive thought, Byakuya nodded to the group. “Our first order of business should be to split up and search the school.” He made a <em>go on </em>motion with his hand. “Now hurry up. You’re wasting my time.”</p><p>He was about to leave to search the school like he had the first time when Makoto came jogging up to him. “Hey. That was really cool, what you did. I wish I could do stuff like that.”</p><p>Byakuya scoffed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“You know, rallying everyone like that. Pulling the group together.” He grinned at him. “I don’t care what you say, you’re a good guy.”</p><p>Byakuya sighed. “It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?”</p><p>“So, wanna search together?”</p><p>He had <em>not </em>been expecting that. “Excuse me?”</p><p>“You know, search the school! It looks like everyone’s splitting up into groups, so do you wanna partner up with me?”</p><p><em>Right. He was knocked out the past two times, so Sayaka was the only one who had to deal with him.</em> He should say no. He needed a moment alone to make a plan and decide what to do next and – “I suppose.”</p><p>“Awesome!” Makoto’s relieved smile positively shone.</p><p>
  <em>Worth it.</em>
</p><p>What had gotten into him lately? Forget Makoto, it wasn’t like him to get hung up on romantic interests at all.</p><p>Then again, the only people he’d ever really associated with outside his family had been business partners and girls his parents wanted him to court, neither of which were particularly appealing to him.</p><p>“So, where should we look first?”</p><p>Byakuya shook himself out of his thoughts. Last time he had searched for clues to the mastermind’s identity, but that wasn’t exactly an issue for him anymore, and he couldn’t think of any concrete evidence he could find at this stage. “I don’t know,” he admitted, and laughed. “Wow, I am not used to admitting that.”</p><p>“Okay, then…” Makoto yawned. “For some reason I’m really tired. How ‘bout we check out the dorms?”</p><p>“Excellent.”</p><p>As expected, they didn’t find anything too groundbreaking. They made the typical discoveries – the dorms were soundproof, the boys had toolkits while the girls had sewing kits, Makoto’s bathroom door was stuck. Nothing at all to make this little excursion worthwhile.</p><p>But… he was still happy.</p><p>Reflecting on his situation, he had to laugh. He was trapped in a time loop that he couldn’t reveal any details of in a killing game likely to claim the lives of people he had to reluctantly admit were his friends over and over. And he was happy, all because he got to spend an hour or so with a cute boy.</p><p>
  <em>Okay. Maybe I do have a ‘crush’ on Makoto Naegi.</em>
</p><p>Which was all the more reason he had to save him. All the more reason he had to save them all.</p>
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